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Mindfulness program effective for stress, trauma in urban middle school students

An adapted mindfulness-based stress reduction program effectively reduced stress and trauma symptoms among urban middle school students, according to recent findings.

To assess efficacy of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for stress and trauma among low-income, minority middle school students, Erica M.S. Sibinga, MD, MHS, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a 12-week adapted program at two Baltimore City public schools. Study participants included 300 middle school students who were randomly assigned by grade to receive an adapted mindfulness program or health education via Healthy Topics programs.

The mindfulness program was adapted by researchers from an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program consisting of three components: 1) didactic material related to mindfulness, meditation, yoga and the mind-body connection; 2) experiential practice of mindfulness meditations, mindful yoga and body awareness during group sessions; and 3) group discussion focused on applying mindfulness to everyday situations and problem-solving addressing barriers of effective practice.

The majority of study participants were black and eligible for free lunch.

Treatment groups were comparable at baseline.

Postintervention, students in the mindfulness program reported lower levels of depressive symptoms (P = .02), self-hostility (P = .02), somatization (P = .03), negative affect (P = .003), negative coping (P = .04), and rumination (P = .03), compared with students in the Healthy Topics programs.

Levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (P = .02), including subdomains of depressive (P = .03) and re-experiencing (P = .008), were significantly lower among students in the mindfulness program.

“As we continue to learn that many adult diseases have their roots in childhood exposure to stress and trauma, it is essential to intervene with primary prevention strategies to reduce their negative effects among children and youth,” Sibinga and colleagues wrote. “This trial provides convincing evidence that high-quality school-based [mindfulness-based stress reduction] instruction for youth in urban public schools is feasible, acceptable, and leads to improvements in psychological symptoms, coping and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Improvements in these domains may ultimately reduce the negative impact of stress and trauma experienced in childhood and adolescence and lead to significant positive shifts, when imagined over the life course.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.